


The Princess and the Dog

by adventuresofcomicbookgirl



Category: Fullmetal Alchemist, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood & Manga
Genre: Action/Adventure, Canon-Typical Violence, Female Friendship, Female Protagonist, Female Relationships, Gen, POV Female Character, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-05-08
Updated: 2013-05-08
Packaged: 2017-12-10 18:39:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,553
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/788963
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/adventuresofcomicbookgirl/pseuds/adventuresofcomicbookgirl
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Prompted with "Lan Fan and May bonding and kicking ass together." So here it is! The girls find themselves stranded in the desert while Ling has one of his fainting spells. May's injured, Lan Fan's grouchy- will the two be able to stop bickering long enough to battle some bandits?</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Princess and the Dog

“He collapsed,” May stared at the boy face down in the desert sand.

“He did,” Lan Fan sighed.

“How often does he do this?”

“Every few days.”

“What’s wrong with him?”

“He’s always been fairly sickly.”

“Ling Yao. Sickly.”

“Yes, he pushes himself a lot.”

“How did he get across the desert the first time?”

“I carried him part of the way.”

“You’re kidding me! This useless guy who has to be carried by his bodyguard is going to be the emporer! Who carried your things back then?”

 Lan Fan looked down at her feet. “Grandfather did.”

“…Oh.” May cursed herself internally. So stupid, asking the question without thinking. “W-well, I…I’ll take care of our things this time…”

“You can’t even walk properly. And Grandfather’s body is too heavy for you. We’ll have to camp here for the day.”

Lan Fan went to set up their shelter. May sighed and poked Ling’s head with her finger. He’d made her fall over too, when he’d collapsed while supporting her. “Useless boy, being a burden on your help. I could steal the philosopher’s stone from you right now if I wanted to. You should be grateful that unlike you, I have morals.”

“Chang, stop poking him and come help me set the tent,” Lan Fan called.

“That’s  _Princess_ to you!” May said, but she crawled over.

Soon, they were eating. Lan Fan alternated between feeding herself and stuffing food in Ling’s mouth. He chewed it in his sleep. It was rather disgusting to watch. May fed Shao May, and caught Lan Fan watching her.

“You’re always making eyes at Shao May. You can pet her if you want.”

“I don’t have the slightest bit of interest in that mutated animal,” Lan Fan said stiffly, looking away.

May stood up. “Don’t you dare insult Shao May, you dog of the Yao clan! I can tell you like her anyway! You’re just like Mr. Scar! You always say the opposite of what you mean!”

Lan Fan looked perplexed. “Scar? You mean the man with the x-shaped scar on his face?”

“Yes.” May sat back down. “Mr. Scar. He’s my friend. Though…though I’m not sure what happened to him…” May’s eyes welled up. “I can’t believe I let that useless prince take me away without trying to find him. What if he’s…”

“He’s fine,” Lan Fan cut her off. “Don’t cry.”

“W…wha?” May wiped her eyes. “How would you know?”

“I saw him. He killed Fuhrer Bradley and then I carried him over to some place and he did some sort of alchemy. He was bleeding rather badly, but I tended to his wounds. The people who took him away said they should be able to save him.”

“You…you…” May could barely believe what she was hearing. “…Thank…you…”

Lan Fan raised an eyebrow. “What was that? I didn’t quite hear you.”

“I said thank you, all right!” May cried.

“A thank you from royalty. How novel,” Lan Fan looked imperiously at May. “Very well, then,  I suppose I can see your panda.”

Shao May bounded into Lan Fan’s arms. May was disgusted at her pet’s lack of reserve.

“We’ll have to sleep in shifts. There’s desert bandits around this area,” Lan Fan said after a while, scratching Shao May’s head.

“I know, I fought them on my way here,” May muttered.

“Don’t try to fight them yourself this time. You’re injured. You’ll get us all killed.”

“Why don’t you wake up the useless prince if you’re so worried?”

“You can’t wake him when he gets like this.”

“How very convenient.”

“Continue to badmouth the young lord and I will be forced to physiically reprimand you, royalty or not.”

May rolled her eyes. The girl had saved Mr. Scar, so she could let this slide. “I’ll take first shift.”

—-

She was in too much pain to call for Lan Fan. Only choking gasps came out as the man ground his foot into her injured leg.

“I can’t believe the little girl struggled so futilely when she can barely walk!” The man holding her cackled. 

“How many knives does she have… this has to be at least ten up her sleeves alone…” his friend marveled, counting the weapons he’s retrieved from a cursory search of May’s person.

“This cat thing keeps trying to bite me!” the man holding Shao May moaned.

“Kill it, then.”

“N-!” May began to cry, but her captor forced her face into the sand. Her eyes stung and she couldn’t breathe and then-

“AH!”

Suddenly, there was no one holding her and she felt the ropes that had been keeping her tied release. May looked up and saw a streak of black, and next thing she knew the man holding Shao May had collapsed. One by one, the desert bandits fell before they could react, until Lan Fan was left with her foot firmly planted on the last unconscious body.

Lan Fan glared at May.

“ _I thought I told you to wake me up if you heard something!”_ She said through gritted teeth.

 _“_ It was a surprise attack! I sensed some men approaching but then-“

“You…spoiled naive princess! ” Lan Fan said through gritted teeth.

“I’m trying to tell you-“

But before May could finish her sentence, there was an explosion that sent Lan Fan flying and shattered her automail.

“She was trying to tell you that before the men retrieved her, she was temporarily stunned by a mysterious force, so this particular gang must have an alchehestrist in reserve,” A stringy man sauntered forward  leering down at Lan Fan, who moaned. “One who has buried many objects with transmutation circles on them in the sand and one who is well practiced in concealing his presence. Now, did I hear something about royalty? I’ve been away from Xing for about twenty years…A princess who could fetch a hefty ransom would be a good reason to go back .”

“Her…her clan is really poor…” Lan Fan struggled to get up, but swayed and fell back down. Her head was bleeding quite a bit. May wasn’t sure how she was still talking and moving.

“Really? I fail to see how she can afford a bodyguard then. Unless…were you guarding the young man in the tent?”

Lan Fan’s eyes widened. 

“Don’t tell such a disgraceful lie, Lan Fan!” May cut in quickly. “Me, not able to afford two bodyguards? Just because you’ve failed in your duty, there is not need to ruin my reputation!”

“Ah, so they’re both your bodyguards,” the man said.

“Obviously not very good ones though,” May sighed.

 ”So you don’t mind if I go and execute that one in the tent?” The man took a step in that direction,but Lan Fan reached out and grabbed him by the leg.

“You’re still trying to fight-” the man began, sneering down at the girl.

 With a herculean effort, May got to her feet. Forcing herself through the blinding pain, she ran and lunged for her discarded knives. She threw five at the transmutation circle she’d drawn in the sand behind her back and then another five around the man.

“Wha-” the man registered what was going on at the last second. He tried desperately to get away, but Lan Fan held him fast. May planted her hands on the circle, and Lan Fan rolled out of the way. The explosion that sent the mysterious alkahestrist flying was much more powerful than any of the ones he had previously created. He was dead before he hit the ground.

May collapsed, her head spinning with pain. Lan Fan crawled toward her, bringing Shao May along. “Ch-…May!”

“You should probably lie down, Lan Fan,” May groaned as her panda whimpered and nudged her face.

“I’m fine! What about your legs?”

“I’ll live.”

“I’m sorry I didn’t listen to you,” 

“It’s okay. Honestly, it wouldn’t have been out of character for me to try to take them on my own.

Lan Fan laughed. “I guess we’re both too impulsive for our own good…”

 May eyed Lan Fan’s missing arm blearily. “Your automail…”

“It’s probably for the best. It was giving me trouble already, it would have been impossible to cross the desert with it. I’ll do something about it when we get to Xing.””

“I was surprised you guessed my plan so easily, though. I guess you’re smarter than I gave you credit for.”

Lan Fan shrugged.

“…May?”

“Yes?”

“Thanks for helping me protect the Young Lord.’

“A thank you from a bodyguard. How novel,” May smirked at Lan Fan. “I wanted to protect you too, you know. To repay the favor.”

“Thank you for that as well,” Lan Fan said. “I’m glad to have a reliable ally, even if she is a stuck up princess.

“Yes, and I suppose it’s not too bad befriending a stray dog.” May yawned. “I’ll heal your head after I rest a little.”

“Take all the time you need. You ought to heal yourself first.” Lan Fan picked May up with one arm and began to carry her back to the tent.

Just then, Ling came wandering out.

“What’s going on? I heard some noise. Did I miss something? Wh-what happened to you two?  Who are those guys?”

The girls looked at each other and sighed.


End file.
